FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 08, 2005
June 08, 2005
Emily Ryan
202-639-6421
202-639-6421
AFGE Accuses Administration of Wasting Millions on Privatization Reviews for Federal Jobs
(Washington)—The federal government is wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money to review jobs for privatization, only to keep them in-house, American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage said today.
According to an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report, the federal government spent approximately $110 million in privatization reviews last year, with more than 90% of the jobs remaining federal functions. “It’s time for OMB to stop frivolously spending hardworking American’s money, and own up to its mistakes,” Gage said.
“OMB chronically underestimates the costs of conducting privatization reviews. For example, a recent study at the Commerce Department’s National Logistics Support Center, a component of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that it cost more than $40,000 per employee reviewed. That’s more money than some people make. I can’t imagine the justification behind spending more money to review a position for privatization than the yearly salary for that same position.
“If there are flaws in the current federal workforce,” Gage added, “of course they should be corrected. But this workforce is dedicated and trained by the federal government. The federal workforce is continuously slandered in privatization reviews, yet—by OMB’s own admission—it has proven to be superior over private contractors,” Gage added. “Competitive sourcing is nothing more than the administration’s attempt to pad the pockets of its contractor buddies.”
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